Scientific Program & Book of Abstracts

Molecular Oncology Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin, Germany • Gaetano Gargiulo is Group Leader of Molecular Oncology at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. His research explores how cancer cell plasticity and dynamic cell states drive tumor progression and therapy resistance, with a focus on glioblastoma and KRAS-driven lung cancer. He pioneered synthetic genetic tracing approaches to study and manipulate cancer cell states, and his lab combines genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and phenotypic drug discovery to develop new therapeutic strategies. He has received several major awards and grants, including three ERC grants, the DFG Heisenberg Programme, the BBAW Science Prize, and the Premio Lorini.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA • His research focuses on critical periods of brain development, during which his lab has identified pivotal inhibitory circuits that orchestrate structural and functional rewiring of connections in response to early sensory experience.

Dementia Research Institute, University College London, UK • Dr. Soyon Hong studies how neuroimmune interactions shape synapse vulnerability in aging and neurodegenerative disease. Her research has uncovered fundamental mechanisms by which glial and immune cells mediate synapse loss in vulnerable neural circuits. Her laboratory has identified multiple immune-glial pathways that regulate synapse elimination, including cell-cell signaling dysregulated by amyloid-beta pathology in Alzheimer’s disease and by neuronal hyperactivity. Her research also extends to how immune cells across the brain and periphery influence synapse fate and disease progression, including gut-brain pathways that modulate alpha-synuclein pathology in Parkinson’s disease. She leads a laboratory at the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London.

UCL BRC Queen Square MND Centre, Institute of Neurology London, UK • Professor Malaspina is the Clinical-Academic Director of the UCL BRC Queen Square MND Centre, Institute of Neurology, with over 20 years of experience in multidisciplinary care and research in MND and neuromuscular disorders. His primary interest lies in identifying molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration to inform novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for MND. He has led major UK-wide longitudinal biobanking projects capturing the natural history of MND and currently leads the ALS Biomarkers Study, one of the largest natural history study in ALS. His work on neuroinflammation and neuroaxonal degeneration has positioned him as a leading figure in the ALS biomarker and clinical trial landscape. Professor Malaspina has pioneered the development and optimization of biomarker assays, such as neurofilaments—now central to clinical trial design—and advanced proteomic techniques exploring molecular intersections between tissues and biological fluids. In recognition of this work, he received the Healey ALS Innovation Award in 2023 and is a member of the MIROCALS consortium. He leads a multidisciplinary team covering basic and clinical science in ALS, contributing to national and international initiatives such as United to End MND, the UK MND Research Institute and PRECISION ALS.

VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology Antwerp, The Netherlands • Dr. Emanuela Pasciuto is Group Leader at the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology and Associate Professor at the University of Antwerp. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from KU Leuven in 2014. Her research focuses on neuroimmunology, investigating how adaptive immune cells shape brain function and disease. She studies T cell interactions with neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in brain homeostasis and pathology. Her work addresses autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and experience-dependent brain plasticity. Dr. Pasciuto integrates immunology, molecular neuroscience, and single-cell multiomics approaches. She has received major funding, including an ERC Starting Grant (2025–2029). She has published extensively in leading journals such as Nature Immunology, EMBO Molecular Medicine, and Immunity. Her research has earned international recognition, invited lectures, and competitive awards. She is committed to mentoring young scientists and advancing translational strategies to restore neuroimmune balance.

Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair (CCMR) at the University of Cambridge, UK • Luca Peruzzotti-Jametti is a Group Leader within the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair (CCMR) at the University of Cambridge. He also serves as Honorary Neurology Consultant at Addenbrooke's Hospital. Luca obtained his MD from the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele of Milan, Italy (2007). He completed a residency program in Neurology at the same University (2013) and a following PhD in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge, UK (2018). During his early graduate studies, he was a visiting scientist in major European universities, such as the University Hospital in Zürich (Switzerland), the University of Aarhus (Denmark), the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Restorative Neurology of Lund (Sweden) and the University of Innsbruck (Austria). He later progressed towards a post-doctoral position at Cambridge University (2018) and then became Group Leader within the CCMR (2022) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (2024). Luca is a 2015 Wellcome Trust RT Fellow, a 2016 Delegate of Cambridge University to the Global Young Scientists Summit in Singapore, a 2020 Wellcome Trust CRCD Fellow, and a 2024 MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow. He was the recipient of the 2018 CSAR PhD Student Award for Applied Research, the 2018 Italian Embassy Italy Made Me Award in Life Sciences, the 2020 UK Society for Extracellular Vesicles Young Investigator award, and the 2022 Rita Levi Montalcini award for Multiple Sclerosis research. Luca’s laboratory activity is documented in >70 PubMed indexed publications - including Nature, Nature Metabolism, Neuron, Cell Stem Cell, New England Journal of Medicine - which have received ~11,000 citations, with a Hirsch Factor of 36. Lab website: https://www.LPJlab.org/

Institut Pasteur, Paris (France) • Morgane Thion is a neuroscientist and Junior Team Leader at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. She leads the Neuroimmunology & Maternal-Fetal Interactions group at the interface of neurobiology, immunology and developmental biology. Her research focuses on microglia and their role in early brain development. Her team investigates the bidirectional crosstalk between microglia and the developing vasculature, and how maternal environmental signals, including the microbiota, influence these processes during early life. She has received several competitive awards and funding, including an ERC Starting Grant.

Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands • Vincent van de Ven is Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University (The Netherlands). His research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying memory, perception, and decision-making, with a particular emphasis on how contextual information—such as time, space, and social cues—shapes human cognition. He investigates how memory representations are formed and used to predict future events, especially under conditions of uncertainty. His work combines behavioral paradigms with advanced neurotechnologies, including functional MRI, EEG, non-invasive brain stimulation, and virtual reality, to uncover the dynamic interactions between brain networks supporting cognition.